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Eve Williams, four years old, suffered a seizure after she was accidentally given the incorrect medication by a pharmacy. Eve’s mom, Jenni, claimed that Frith Pharmacy was the cause of her daughter’s seizure.
According to Jenni, the pharmacist gave her a bottle of Clobazam, which is an anti-epileptic drug. It is one of the two medicines that little Eve has to take to ameliorate her condition. However, according to her mom, she was given the wrong dosage strength.
Eve was prescribed with 10mg of the drug per 5ml. The bottle her mom got, however, was weaker, only 5mg per 5ml. Therefore, Eve was only getting half of what she was supposed to get to prevent her from getting seizures.
Jenni, Eve’s mom, said, “Not only was it the wrong level of the drug, which is really dangerous, but they also stuck over their own label on top of the bottles, which they shouldn’t do.”
Jenni continued, “It meant that it covered up the level, and it wasn’t until a doctor at the hospital asked to see the bottle that we realized. Perhaps I should have noticed something sooner as Eve kept waking up in the night after switching to the new bottle.
“I can forgive the initial mistake, but everything has to be seconded and signed off, and I can’t forgive whoever seconded it as they clearly didn’t do their job. I’m surprised with what the letter states.”
After suffering the seizure, Eve was having trouble sleeping. The little girl would wake up in the middle of the night.
The General Pharmaceutical Council apologized for the mistake. However, they confirmed that they won’t be following up with an investigation.
Jenni, who’s from Dorking, Surrey, said, “I am feeling outraged after receiving the council’s letter that they could get off the hook over it. The fact that it happened isn’t in any doubt as they’ve sent me a letter of apology but it’s not right that nothing can happen about this.”
She continued, “It’s also so important to raise awareness and remind other people to check their medication from a pharmacy. A pharmacist is as important as a GP medically, they are the last link in the chain.”
A spokesperson for Frith Pharmacy said, “A dispensing error was made at Frith Pharmacy in Dorking on September 26, 2016, where a medicine was supplied at a lower dose than required.
The spokesperson continued, “Although there is no proven link between the error and the patient’s subsequent admission to hospital, this is clearly a serious matter. We have apologized for this error and have taken steps to minimize the possibility of a similar incident occurring again.”
